The Marvel Cinematic Universe took the world for a decade-long write that culminated in something quite grand with Avengers Endgame. Marvel is no stranger to shared universes with plenty of characters to fill it, as these films are an adaptation of the comic books.
What’s so thrilling about a shared universe is seeing stories from our favorite characters woven together into a tapestry of vibrant storytelling. Cinematic universes didn’t begin with the MCU, however. Shared universes have existed even if it’s been on a much more subtle scale. A cameo of a character from one film appearing in another or a small reference to the storyline of another movie all contribute to the concept of a shared universe.
Universal Monsters
No, I’m not talking about the recently failed universe beginning with Tom Cruise’s stint in The Mummy. I’m referring to the original cinematic universe to unfold between the classic monster movies of the 1920s and onward. Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, and the Wolf Man existed as part of their own world.
Eventually, they crossed over with movies like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, and House of Dracula where the monsters came together. The Universal Monsters universe was the first cinematic universe to ever exist.
Aliens and Predator
Horror/Sci-fi fans will appreciate one of the greatest sci-fi teases to ever take place in the film. In the final moments of Predator 2, Lieutenant Mike Harrigan of the Los Angeles police force stumbles in the Predator’s spacecraft. After learning that the intergalactic hunters sought to hunt prey on Earth simply for sport, Harrigan discovers that Earth is far from the only world that the predators have used as hunting grounds.
In fact, a wall of skull trophies of various alien species revealed that the xenomorph from the Alien film franchise was one such trophy cementing that predators and the famous xenomorphs from Alien existed in the same universe. Later, they’d actually clash in two Alien vs. Predator films that were critically panned.
Freddy vs. Jason
Two other horror franchises brought fans together for a fight several films in the making. Freddy Krueger had been terrorizing teenagers in their dreams while Jason Voorhees spent most of his time at Camp Crystal Lake murdering camp counselors. Eventually, they crossed paths in the film Freddy vs. Jason when Kreuger realizes that his influence over his prey is waning as people have forgotten the dream killer.
He tricks Jason Voorhees into coming to town to start murdering folks and stir up the chatter of Freddy Krueger’s return in order to regain his power over the people. As the title implies, Freddy and Jason are eventually pitted against each other resulting in a clash of horror icons.
View Askewniverse
Kevin Smith’s comic book fandom likely gave him the idea of creating his own universe in film commonly known among fans as the View Askewniverse aptly named after his production studio – View Askew Productions. Smith’s first film Clerks introduced the popular duo Jay and Silent Bob portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith respectively. While they weren’t the stars of that film, they’d become the primary connective thread between several of Smith’s films featuring different characters and stories including Dogma, Chasing Amy, Clerks II, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. As a result of their consistent appearances, the two potheads became widely known in pop culture.
The pre-MCU Marvel universe
You read that right. Marvel began a shared universe with the smallest cameo shared between Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films and the Jonathan Henseligh-directed The Punisher film. Spider-man 2 ends with the death of Dr. Otto Octavius and Peter Parker telling Mary Jane that they can’t be together for her own safety.
With the intention of following through with her wedding to John Jameson, J. Jonah Jameson’s astronaut son, she ends up ditching the wedding to run back to Peter and make things work out between them. In her jaunt back to Peter’s apartment, Thomas Jane’s Punisher can be spotted in the background giving credence to the idea that there was a possible shared connection between the two films.
Quentin Tarantino Universe
It’s not entirely obvious, but there are connections that run through each of Quentin Tarantino’s films that web the stories together as part of a larger world (and timeline). Many of his films reference others, such as Uma Thurman’s character in Pulp Fiction discussing her stint playing as a TV character known as the deadliest woman in the world with a knife. This is a nod to Kill Bill.
Additionally, characters share surnames indicating a familial relationship or ancestry. For example, Pete Hicox in The Hateful Eight is an ancestor of Archie Hicox in Inglorious Basterds. There are countless subtle connections between the films just like this.
Machete and Spy Kids
You read that correctly. The violent Grindhouse flick Machete is in the same universe as the fun-for-the-whole-family film Spy Kids. In Spy Kids, Danny Trejo portrays the uncle of the titular spy kids in the Cortez family. His name in that film, in case you had forgotten, is Machete.
He is the brother of the Cortez kids’ skilled spy father portrayed by Antonio Banderas making him the very same Isador “Machete” Cortez of the Grindhouse films. Both Spy Kids and Machete were directed by Robert Rodriguez essentially cementing this shared universe.
Ghostbusters and Casper
Do you remember Casper the friendly ghost? In 1995, the bubbly little ghost made his silver screen debut in Casper. In the film, Carrigan Crittenden, the heiress to a manor haunted by Casper and his mischievous ghostly uncles attempts to have the ghosts removed from the premises.
In her attempt to clear the ghosts out of the home, she decided to make the call. Ray Stantz of Ghostbusters fame made an appearance to stop the ghosts in their tracks, but even they were too much for him and his trusty proton pack.
Jay, Silent Bob, and Scream
Sure, Jay and Silent Bob are already a part of their own View Askewniverse. But they’ve also bled into another franchise beloved by horror fans – Scream. At first blush, fans of the film will remember the duo’s cameo in Scream 3 as they manage to bump into Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers completely in character implying that they exist in that universe.
Of course, the popularity of Jay and Silent Bob ran parallel to Scream 3 in 2000. Both properties were financed by The Weinstein Company at the time so it’s easy to believe that this was meant to simply be an opportunistic cameo. However, the connection was fun for fans of both films.
Disney
Sure, animators like to have fun and plug hidden or not-so-hidden cameos in their films for pure enjoyment. But is it possible that there’s also a larger connection at work in the animated Disney films? Many of the animated Disney films of the ’90s contained references to other Disney animated films. For instance, Genie from Aladdin magically appeared as Pinocchio and even found Sebastian the Crab (The Little Mermaid) at the end of his finger at one point.
In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Belle from Beauty and the Beast can be seen reading a book in the streets. Of course, this cameo is appropriate as both films occur in France. Consistent connections like these point to the probability of a grander universe at work that will continue to fuel fan theories for years to come.
